Vidith, Abhijit share lead

A STAFF REPORTER

Calcutta: Grandmaster Vidith Santosh Gujrathi joined statemate Abhijit Kunte at the top with five points after Round VI of the 6 th Kolkata Open International Grandmaster Chess tournament, organised by the Alekhine Chess Club, at Gorky Sadan, on Sunday.

Vidith’s opponent, Abdulla Al Rakib of Bangladesh, adopted the Nimzo Indian defence against him and the game went on expected lines until move 19. With Vidith doubling his rooks on the open B-file, Abdulla exchanged one of the rooks to minimise the under-14 world champion’s attack.

But then, Vidith made a stunning rook sacrifice on the 23 rd move, leading to a Knight Fork of Abdulla’s King and Queen. Thereafter, Abdulla resigned immediately.

On the top board, Kunte again played safe to maintain the lead, holding Filipino GM Oliver Barbosa to a draw in 25 moves of an English opening.

Like Ukrainian Fedorchuk, third seed Russian Konstantin too had his views on the crisis in Crimea, where Pro-Russian troops consolidated Moscow’s control on Saturday, a day after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin signed laws completing his country’s annexation of the peninsula.

“Whatever retaliation that was there from Ukraine, I feel, wouldn’t have been possible without the US’s support. It could well be that the US have in their mind to have control over that place. “(Grandmaster) Sergey Karjakin, currently playing in the Candidates Chess tournament, hails from Crimea,” Konstantin said.